Howdy Texas!
Well, it’s not like we landed in the state yesterday, mind you. We have been here awhile. But it takes time to get your sea legs, you know?!! Or I guess you could call it your Texas legs over here. We have been here almost 2 full years and I am still learning, discovering and becoming use to living in Texas. Let me tell you our story.
Once upon a time, in a land far…far away, we lived in California. Yes, it is does seem far away in quite a lot of areas. It almost seems that California is a country all to itself!! My husband was born and raised there, and for good or bad has seen it changed, and in his opinion not for the better. He has seen it transform from the beautiful, lush magnificence that God created it to be to a cram jammed, packed as tight as you can concrete and house jungle. With far too many people and far too many rules and regulations that go with having a humongous population. It was very disheartening for him to see and to live through. His passion of drag racing was becoming extinct in California although it had been birthed there. Times were a changin as they say.
For me, I was born in Riverside CA, but my mother was a gypsy at heart so we moved here and there, spending most of my young life in Oklahoma, Utah and finally Southern California. I didn’t see and experience the gorgeousness of California from an early age as John had done, but it was beautiful none the less when I moved there, at least to me. Especially the ocean, the sand, the orange groves with their amazing blossoms, and the smell. California has it’s own unique scent.
Fast forward 15 years and I too could see the changes being wrought in California. There was far too many people, which caused massive amounts of traffic and congestion no matter where you went. It became quite an ordeal just to drive down to the store. We are talking 30-45 minutes just to get to the store, once there due to the amount of people, shopping just wasn’t enjoyable at all. And don’t even get me started on the freeways. Can you say 4-6 lane parking lots?!! A trip down to the ocean or even to Disneyland became a half a day ordeal.
Rules, regulations and laws were also changing due to the more liberal stance of the state government. These were concerns for John and I as we were more conservative minded in thought and action and how we lived our lives. The liberal regulations and laws being imposed on us felt very restricting and unfortunately wasn’t going to change anytime soon. And to live in California, you either had to be rich already, or both spouses had to have very good incomes. Even young couples would rent a house and have roomates just to be able to pay the rent. The proverbial “ends” did not meet in California. You were working constantly just to make money to live and pay your bills. There was no time for play, let alone money. No rest for the weary in California. Unless your an illegal immigrant and then in CA, you get handed everything on a silver platter! But that is a rant for another time!!
So we prayed. And prayed some more, and discussed and prayed again. After quite some time of discussion and prayer we decided that Texas was for us. We took a weeks vacation over here, John had been here in the past for some training and fell in love with the state and its people. And the fact that there was wide open spaces. So, he brought me over to have a look-see. And look I did and fell in love!! And no wonder, the people that I met were charming, still remembered their manners and were oh so friendly!! Plus, it was only a hop-skip-and a jump to Oklahoma where I grew up as a kid. It was like coming home again. And this new home wouldn’t cost us an arm and a leg, there was breathing room here. And play-time!
It was decided, we had found home! Now the real work would begin. Hunting for jobs and a house to call our home.
Stay tuned for part 2 of our story as we find jobs, find a house all the while living in a camper with Penney the dog and Athena the cat and making in through our first tornado!
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